Duke issued immediate order to stop coal plant groundwater pollution

North Carolina – A judge in North Carolina has ordered Duke Energy Corp to stop polluting the groundwater at its multiple coal plants throughout the state. As reported by Reuters, Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway determined in his ruling, which reversed a North Carolina Environmental Management Commission decision, that state law had not been applied properly when the panel failed to enforce cleanup of the coal ash ponds.

A consortium of environmental groups appealed the panel’s decision in 2012. D.J. Gerken, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center who provided representation for the conservation groups in the case, is quoted by Reuters as stating of the recent ruling, “The ruling leaves no doubt, Duke Energy is past due on its obligation to eliminate the sources of groundwater contamination, its unlined coal ash pits…The state has both the authority and a duty to require action now.”

Subpoenas have reportedly been issued by federal prosecutors to Duke and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources in relation to an investigation into potential legal violations at the company’s 14 coal ash sites.

This report is provided by Justice News Flash – North Carolina Legal News